Improvement in-leg and foot rests



'1. WEDDLE.

LEG AND FOOT BESTS.

No 195,425. Patented. Sept 18,1877.

UNIT STATES PATENT QFFICE.

THOMAS WEDDLE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT m l-: ANDY FOOT RESTS.

Specification forming'part of Letters Patent No. 195,425, datedSeptember 18, 1877 application filed February 7, 1877.

To all whom it may concern: I v

Be it known that L'Tnoinas WEDDLE, of the city of Brooklyn, in thecounty of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Leg and Foot Rests, of which the following is adescription,reference being bad to the accompa- Zryin g drawing, formingpart of this specifica- This invention relates to rests for the supportof the feet and legs of invalids and others occupying either asitting orreclining position or other attitude, said rests'embracin g a standardwhich freely bears upon the ground or floor, and which carries a shelffor support of the feet of the occupant, either when at rest or whenrocking himself backward and forward, as the case may be.

The invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinationsof parts, whereby I combine, in a cheap and simple manner, all theadvantages of a leg and foot rest in which the foot-supporting shelf isan immovable fixture on or with its standard, and the advantages whichare due to a rest in which the standard and shelf may be closed one uponthe other to facilitate the portability or stowing away, when not inuse, of the rest, thewhole beingconstructed so that the greatestcompactness is efi'ected when the rest is closed, and the greateststability when it is erected or adjusted for use.

Figure 1 represents a view, in perspective, of my improved leg and footrest as adjusted for use, and Fig. 2 a transverse section thereof. Fig.3 is a view, in perspective, of the rest when closed for the convenienceof transportation, or of stowing away in-a trunk or elsewhere.

A is the standard, constructed with sides b b, to receive in a freesliding manner within it the shelf or foot-supporting board B, which isdetachable from the standard, and which,

when the rest is erected for use, has its inner end inserted in atransverse groove, 0, made in the face of the standard, thus forming atongue-and-groove joint, which may be further stiffened or strengthenedby forming one or more tenons, d, on said end of the shelf,

and entering the same within mortises-c in the standard. Either or bothof these modes of attachment may be adopted, they being substantiallysimilar, and forming a shouldered supporting-joint of the shelf with thestandard when the rest is in use, and permitting of the ready detachmentof the shelf from the standard when it is required to pack away the restin a flat small compass of no greater thickness than the thickness ofthe shelf and that of the standard combined, as shown in Fig. 3.

The sides b b of the standard A also serve to give increased stabilityto the rest, as well as to form guides and retaining-strips for theshelf B when slid into its closed position on or over the face of thestandard.

The sides b b have longitudinal notches s on their inner faces, toreceive within them, when the rest is closed, braces U G, which areconnected at their one end with said sides by pivots 9. These braces arethrown up or out when the rest is adjusted for use, and are connected attheir outer ends, by screws or removable pins h, with the sides of theshelf, to give additional support or strength to the latter.

Furthermore, the shelf B is held to its place in the groovec andmortises e of the standard by straps D D, hinged at their inner ends tothe sides b b, and connected with the sides of the shelf by screws orremovable pins h. By suitably lengthening the hinged straps D, the samescrews or pins h or h may serve to connect both the braces and strapswith the sides of the shelf.

When the rest is closed, as in Fig. 3, the hinged straps D are turneddown over the shelf, and secured by the screws or pins h or h enteringdowel-plates i in the face of the standard, thus keeping the shelf fromworking out from between the sides b b. When duplicate sets of screws orpins h and h are used, then the one set may be entered, as described,through the hinged straps into the dowelplates 03, and the other set beentered for safekeeping through the sides b into the sides or edges ofthe shelf, as shown in Fig. 3.

The connection of the shelf B with the standard A when the rest iserected for use is intermediate of the length of the standard, so

that the rest may be reversed end for end of the standard,as regards itsbearin g or rocking support on the ground.

Both the standard and shelf may be made of any suitable material, andeither be of a solid or open construction, and plain or orna mental.

I claim- 1. The combination of the standard A, having sides b b andmortises e, and the shelf B, fitted between said sides, and providedwith tenons d d, substantially as and for the purposes herein specified.

2. The combination of the hinged straps D with the sides b b of thestandard A, the screws or removable pins, and the shelf B, constructedto fit within the sides b, and to and described.

THOS. WEDDLE. Witnesses:

W. G. PEIRSON, T. W. RIDSDALE.

